Music is one of the great joys of my life. I love listening to music and seeing it performed live. If they ever make a film of my life, it's going to have a hell of a soundtrack.

I really appreciate music played by individuals who play because they enjoy it. While I occasionally have a weakness for a pop hook in a song, I truly enjoy great musicianship. In the past several years, a good portion of my music listening has been consumed by jazz. I also have a deep appreciation for bands that perform incredible live shows.

One of my all time favorite bands is the Allman Brothers Band. Those folks who only know them from "Ramblin' Man" or "Whipping Post" do not have the whole picture. One listen to "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" on their live album Live at Fillmore East will tell you how talented and capable of improvisation this band was and still is at times. Thankfully, there are second generation bands that share this love of musicianship and improvisation that the ABB possesses. Foremost among these bands are two of my current faves, Gov't Mule, led by guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody, and the Derek Trucks Band, featuring the jazz/blues stylings of slide guitar prodigy Derek Trucks. (Congratulations to Derek are due -- he is the newest member of the Allman Brothers Band.) Either of these bands is capable of delivering an incredibly exciting and intense musical performance. (Anyone who attended their marathon six and a half hour performance on New Year's Eve 98-99 in Atlanta can attest to this.)

As far as jazz goes, I am a big fan of hard bop, soul jazz, and latin jazz. I love organ jazz and recommend it highly to any music lover. I do not enjoy the "contemporary jazz" that seems to permeate elevators these days. Check out my jazz recordings for a taste of the stuff I really enjoy. Well-played and improvised music really pleases me.

Unfortunately, much of the music I love will not be heard on your Top 40 radio stations. Thankfully, however, many of the bands I enjoy listening to allow their fans to tape their performances and trade them. (I truly loathe those individuals who would take advantage of this for their own profit and gain -- please do not ask me to sell any of my recordings.)

On to my list -- you're probably tired of hearing me babble:

• Rock Albums
• Soul/Funk Albums
• Blues Albums
• Jazz Albums
• Compilations
• Reviews (Coming soon. I am more than willing to review any recording I own if you're interested in something. I love to turn people on to new music.)
• Live Recordings
  • TAPES
  • CDR's

Feel free to email me if you enjoy discussing music or are interested in a trade or review.

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